I have POA for my dad and he keeps withdrawing money from his checking account. Can I have his SS check and CD put in my account legally to pay his bills so he can't get to it?

Pyt1376, when my Dad decided he didn't want to bother sorting bills and writing checks, we both went to the bank and opened a new bank account which has his name "John Smith" and my name written under his as "or Jane Doe", thus I was able to have all the bills forwarded to my home as Dad had a habit of tossing out the bills. It was the caregiver who found he was doing this :P

Give your Dad an allowance. My Dad would ask for a couple of $20 bills every now and then. Dad still had his credit card and he was excellent about when to use the card, such as doctor/dentis.

Once my Dad was placed into senior care, I used that account to pay for this monthly rent, and any other bills he might have. Yes, his Social Security and pensions were placed in that account.... Dad had no way of getting to the bank unless someone, other then me, would drive him there. I am sure his caregiver would call me first to see if it was ok to drive him there, but he never asked to go to the banks... whew.

Much depends on the exact wording in the POA agreement.

Specificly, what does the document say regarding the handling of money and of greater importance- under what circumstances can the POA be activated? Are those circumstances in effect now?

Generally, DPOAs are more effective in acting on a persons behalf while they are still alive but cognitively impaired. However, in both POA and DPOA the general idea is that the person given the authority acts in a way that the principal would if they were able. Also, if the principal has not been deemed legally incompetent POA does not give the person power to override the principals decisions just because they don't agree with them.

All that said - it's a bad decision to take the principals assets and put them in your own name. This can be interrupted as thief and/or elder abuse. Many, including experts in the field will also tell you never to co-mingle your own assets with the principal you are POA for - it can get dicey when things like qualifying for Medicaid come into play - or if other family members are involved. At best - perhaps an account in both your names but with no assets of your own so every penny can be accounted for that comes in and out of the account. But again - even legal experts will tell you it's not a good idea.

I agree with Geewiz. You need another account with BOTH your names on it to conduct his business and be able to show an accounting of what you are doing and best it be one only you are depositing and withdrawing out of so you know what it is for to the penny. Deposit small amount in his account and show it on the joint account so he can do as he wishes with it but you control the payments so you know he isnt using all his funds for nonsense and his bills are being met.

My initial reaction is HOW is he withdrawing money if he is in a facility and has dementia? But to answer your question, no you can' t put it in your account. BUT as POA you can open a new account for him and have direct deposits put in the new account. You pay the bills from that account. If he needs money ,you can move a small amount to the old account.